


It Started With an Idea

by madness_and_smiles



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 13:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/598226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madness_and_smiles/pseuds/madness_and_smiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers rumor mill is a messy, chaotic machine... especially when talking about the relationship problems of other Avengers. But sometimes it yields good results.</p><p>This fic is very 616 heavy, and it takes place just before the new Marvel Now! Avengers series. So, it's probably best to be somewhat up to date before reading it.</p><p>This was written before Hickman's New Avengers #3 so... keep that in mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Started With an Idea

            Ever since he and Kate went into business together (the hero business, that is) and she started spending about 150% more of her time at his apartment, Clint had been forced to get used to certain things. Things he had forgotten about, after living alone again. Things like an extra toothbrush in the bathroom, and another pair of muddy rain boots by the door, and maybe coming home to find his dog’s toenails painted purple. He had gotten used to a stack of books from the library dominating the kitchen table, and the clack of keys as Kate worked on a report for her Ethics of Business class at Empire State University. Buying two medium pizzas instead of just one, and knowing that someone always had his back. Clint was used to these things now.

            Still, there were other things (smaller things) that Clint had never been able to get quite comfortable with. No, not lady-hygiene stuff. Clint was a grown-ass man, he’d done his fair share of living with ladies (he’d been married too). He was confused by other, more specifically Katie stuff. Stuff like:

            “So, what’s the deal with Cap and Iron Man? Are they… I mean, are they together again?”

            “What?”

            The question came while the two of them were taking pot-shots at the recently emptied building across the street. Still no leads on why the building was empty, or who was behind it all, but in the meantime it made excellent target practice. The question, Kate’s question, had almost thrown him off his game. Almost.

            “Nice try girly-girl,” Clint grinned at broken window, and the subsequent arrow pinning a dollar bill to the wall across the street (he was rich now – he could afford it, and now maybe some squatter would have a lucky day), “But you’re going to have to do better than that to distract me.”

            Kate made a face.

            “I wasn’t going for cheap tricks, Hawkeye. If I’m going to win this contest it’s going to be fair and square.”

            “Never bet against cheap tricks, Katie. Trust me, they’ve saved my ass more than once. In fact, cheap tricks have saved the world more than once.”

            “Fair and square.”

            Clint watched as Kate breathed in, and out, fingers released and – she made a perfect shot. Just like he knew she would. She turned, and her mouth was caught in that half smirk that Clint saw every morning when he looked in the mirror.

            “My turn again, I guess.”

            Clint hadn’t even picked up an arrow when Kate brought it up again.

            “It wasn’t a trick. Billy and I had just been talking. You know, he and Teddy are sort of fighting and… well it doesn’t matter, I guess.” Clint didn’t look at her as he launched the coin off the roof, but he knew the look on her face as he loosed his arrow – concentration, worry, and just that small hint of excitement. 25 cents, now pinned to the wall of the building across the street.  
            “Let’s see you hit that, Katie-Kate.”

            Kate picked up her bow, and the quarter that Clint handed her. Her expression was shuttered as she threw the coin up, and it scared Clint (like it did every time) how much he loved the way her fingers moved as she took the shot.

            He’d made a good choice when he asked her to partner up. Hell, he was lucky she said yes.

            “Anyways,” Kate was already back to the subject at hand, “We were talking and basically Billy said that after Civil War he didn’t think that Cap and Iron Man would ever get back together, but you know. Here they are again and-“

            “I have to stop you there. There is no ‘back together’ – there was nothing to go back to in the first place. I don’t even think either of them is into dudes.” Clint paused for a second while he thought about it, “Well. Okay I guess I don’t really _know._ There was that one time in London where Cap said something about not wanting a woman but… Yeah the two of them definitely have never been together.”

            “Are you _sure_?”

            Kate Bishop was never one to back down easily. It was part of what Clint liked about her. It was also, on occasion, incredibly frustrating. Especially when she turned that suspicion on him, with a flippant remark and a roll of the eyes and –

            “Yes I’m _sure_. I think I’d know if one of my best friends was dating Tony Stark. Tony’s never exactly been subtle.”

            There was that look – the Kate look. Peering out at him like if she could just stare hard enough, she’d unravel everything.

            “Okay, if you’re _sure_.”

            “I’m _sure._ My shot now.”

-

            Clint really was sure. But as he sat at the big round table during a team meeting, he couldn’t help but pick up on things. Little things, that maybe before he would’ve missed, or at least not cared about before. Things like the way Tony leaned so casually into Steve’s space, or the touch of Steve’s hand at the small of Tony’s back. It was crowded that day – with Jan back, everyone was keen to show up for debriefing – but was there really a reason for Cap and Tony to be sitting that close? Their knees were almost touching.

            Clint was definitely sure that the two of them hadn’t been dating before that whole SHRA business (if they had, he’s pretty sure there would’ve been more fucking and less fighting, knowing Tony), but now… he wasn’t so sure about now.

            He wanted to know, but you can’t just ask Captain America if he’s bisexual. That would be bad form. Especially because Steve had made it pretty clear on several occasions that he was not exactly interested in Clint’s love advice. Clint didn’t really blame him – his love life was a car crash.

            Case in point: Jessica Drew, standing across the room from him and looking absolutely gorgeous in her red and yellow costume. Clint had really fucked up on that one. Which wasn’t exactly unusual, as Kate never failed to remind him. Had Jess done something to her hair? It looked great. Maybe that was just the break-up speaking.

            They… well they hadn’t really talked since the break-up. They’d been professional, of course, but it was a far cry from their nights together eating dogs on top of the Brooklyn Bridge. She was standing alone now. She was even kind of looking at him (always hard to tell, with those giant white eye things). Maybe she wanted to talk to him? Yes. Yes, she wanted to talk to him. Now was the time for Clint Barton and Jessica Drew to become friends again.

            “Hey, Jess.”

            “Wh- Oh. Um. Hey.”

            They stood there for a couple seconds in complete silence. Here’s the thing about Clint and women – women are incredible. If there’s something he’s learned about women it is that they are smart, and brave, and just as good (if not better) than men. Take Katie, for example. She is going to be better than Clint ever was.

            The other thing about women, is that it is really, really hard for Clint to not think about having sex with them (especially if he’s already had sex with them). When he said the reason behind asking Katie to be his partner was because he didn’t want to sleep with her, he really meant it. He’s kissed villains before, just because they offered and he could. Hawkeye kisses all of the girls. He’s not a sex addict, nothing like that. But he sees a beautiful woman and – bam. A lot of reasoning goes out the window. So sometimes he says dumb things.

            “I was asked the other day if Cap and Iron Man are in a relationship.”

            Why did he say that? Why were those the words that came out of his mouth? Jess was clearly wondering similar things.

            “Okay,” Jess frowned. “Are they?”

            “Um. I don’t know.”

            There was the silence again, and Clint could feel just the hint – the smallest tingle – of Jessica’s pheromones at work. She was getting irritated.

            “Right, well, I’m just gonna go… Carol and I have lunch plans.”

            “Oh sure,” Clint gave a little wave as Jess was already walking away. Yeah. Okay. He was an idiot. Kate would not be hearing about this one.

-

            “He said _what_?” Carol nearly spit out her soda, and Jess laughed.

            “He said that someone – probably Kate – asked him if Tony and Cap used to date. I swear, first sentence he says to me about the breakup outside of work, and it’s about a possible relationship between Captain America and Iron Man.”

            Jess ran a hand through her hair in frustration and stabbed another bite of salad. Stupid fucking Clint.

            “You know,” Carol said after taking a bite of her burger, doing that thing where you sort of put your hand over your mouth while you chew a bit, “Clint’s a real nice guy, and a fan-fucking-tastic archer, but it is a _really_ good thing you got out of that relationship.”

            “You’re telling me. And now he’s running around with-“

            “Okay, you know it’s not like that.”

            “I know.” Jess did know. The best words she had to describe Clint and Kate was Big Brother meets long lost Little Sister. It had been cute while they were dating. Jess didn’t like kids, but she liked Kate (then again Kate was almost twenty) and the way Kate and Clint interacted was downright sweet. But there was always that point after a break-up where you wanted to avoid everyone and everything connected to the idiot you were involved with. Jess just needed to think about other things. Things that didn’t wear an over-abundance of purple and go by the name Hawkeye. “So, tell me.”

            “Tell you what?”

            “You’re pretty much best friends with both of them.”

            “Steve and Tony? Are they dating?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Hmm…” Carol took another bite of her burger. “Best friends might be pushing it a bit. We all have a lot of other people-“

            “Carol Susan Jane Danvers-”

            “Wow do I regret telling you my full name.”

            “-are those two together or what?” Jess couldn’t really explain what it was about the topic that got her so interested. Maybe she just needed something to keep her mind occupied, maybe she just needed to hear about an actually good relationship, or maybe she just liked the way that Carol smiled right before she launched into a discussion about the interpersonal relationships of Avengers. Maybe all three. Did it really matter?

            “During the… whole thing, there were times after Steve’s death where Tony got pretty weird. I mean we were all having a hard time dealing with it but Tony… If I hadn’t known better, from the way he was acting I would’ve said there was something going on between them, beforehand. But since then? No, I don’t think they’ve had a thing. Steve’s been on-and-off with Sharon Carter, and as far as I know Tony’s had his own lady-issues.”

            “Oh, okay.” It was sort of disappointing, in its own way. “Movie at my place tonight?”

            “Hell yes.”

            “We’re not watching A League of Their Own again.”

-

            Carol loved punching bad guys. Especially bad guys who were about to eat an entire bus of school children, like that fire breathing tortoise.

            “Wow Cap, you’re going to put Mario out of business. Where’s the princess you’re trying to save?”

            “What?” Carol would like to pretend that Peter made sense when he talked in fights, but that would often be a lie. The webslinger let out a heavy sigh.

            “Yeah. Sometimes I forget that no one understands me.”

            “Don’t worry Spidey, it’s why we love you. Besides, it’s not like you’re the only the only nerd who mutters incomprehensible things to himself on this team. Now watch your two-o’clock.” Jan whizzed by as she tackled the giant fanged gorilla that… seemed to be wearing a tie

            “It’s a-me, Spider-Man! Wahoo! Gosh these references are just being wasted.”

            “Oh, I understand them. Hank and I had a Nintendo, you know. I’m just choosing not to respond.”

            It was nice having Jan on the team again. Far nicer than Carol could have ever imagined, before the skrull invasion. It was almost like a piece had been missing – that piece of snarky, bubbly air that came with the flapping of little wings. Between her and Peter, there was enough chatter in the air to drive the monsters insane, if Carol didn’t knock their blocks off first.

            It had taken her a while, but the bottom line was this: Carol loved her job. Especially when that job had zero casualties and three giant monsters all nice and webbed up at the end.

            _“zz Captain Marvel, if it’s alright I’d like your team to report back to base after that, just to debrief a bit zz.”_ Steve’s voice sounded in her ear.

“Roger that, Cap.” Carol touched the comm in her ear lightly, “See you at oh-eight-hundred.”

            “Tell mom I don’t want casserole again!” Peter cried.

            “Did you get that Cap?”

            _“zz Loud and clear. Tell Peter he’ll eat whatever Jarvis makes. That man works way too hard. Over and out zz.”_

Carol had been giving a lot of serious thought to the conversation she and Jess had yesterday. It’s just that, when Clint Barton and the Young Avengers start noticing that something’s up, then something is probably up. If Steve was a girl, then Carol would probably had taken him out for brunch and gossip, but he would hate that. Tony might enjoy it, but he would never give any straight answers. The man had more defenses than just his suits.

            “Something on your mind?” Jan asked.

            “Jan, you’ve known Cap and Tony even longer than I have-“ Before Carol could even finish the sentence, Jan was smirking.

            “Oh, I know. You’re going to ask me if they’ve ever dated.”

            “Excuse me?” Peter squawked. Oh right. Peter. He didn’t know anything about this. “Why is that even a question?” He had just finished webbing up the last monster, and was now hopping around nervously. He could be so damn twitchy, that boy needed to just sit still.

            “Have you looked at the two of them recently spider-boy?” Carol raised an eyebrow, “Why do you think?”

            “Okay, first of all, it’s Spider- _Man_ , dammit. I am 30 years old.”

            “You got carded again last week, Mr. Man.” The look on Peter’s face when the waiter had asked for some ID to go with the beer he ordered had been absolutely priceless. Peter calling her an old lady had been slightly less hilarious.

            “Second of all. Um. Okay. You have a point. Cap and Stark definitely have a thing going on. The Ross and Rachel of the Avengers, or something.”

            “Please don’t make that comparison,” Jan frowned, “You’re not doing the love story of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark justice. None of that ‘I got off the plane” BS.”

            “So you’re saying they…” Carol trailed off when Jan shook her head.

            “No, they haven’t. I know right? Bunch of young, attractive, athletic 20-somethings, you’d assume that we would’ve had nightly orgies or something. I would’ve been in favor. But no, never. I always thought maybe, one day. But then, you know. Steve found Sharon and that other girl. Bernadette or something. Tony found… well I think we all know how many people Tony Stark found.”

            “Yeah, but what about _now?_ ” asked Peter.

            “Well, you all thought I was dead for the past year and a half, so I can’t really comment on the now, darling.”

            “Ahem,” the three looked up to see a police officer pointing at the webbed up monsters. “Is someone going to take those things away? Because NYPD doesn’t cover this stuff, you know.”

            “Yes, officer. Avengers dispatch Alpha Charlie 4370 will be arriving shortly. Tell your man to stand down, but don’t let them leave until the package has been obtained.” Someone (Steve) had commented that ever since Carol took up her new name, she’d been developing a ‘Captain Voice’. Maybe he was right, because for once the police officer didn’t give them any trouble. Carol turned back to her teammates. “So I guess until they announce anything, we just don’t know. And honestly, they might never say anything.”

            “I can’t tell you how good it feels to discuss this with someone who isn’t Hank or Thor…” Jan muttered.

            “Can’t Wolverine like, smell sex on people, or something? Sort of like Blue’s Clues, except completely inappropriate and instead of adorable paw prints he leaves blood and beer cans?” Peter asked.

            “Yes, he can! Thank you for volunteering to ask him!” Carol thumped Peter once on the back, hard.

            “I wasn’t- oh. I hate you sometimes.”

-

            “I’ve just gotta ask him once. I’ve just gotta ask him once. He might kill me. He might kill me. I’ve just gotta ask him once.”

            Peter had been muttering the same two sentences to himself for the past five minutes, while he sat waiting for Wolverine to get to the tower. See, the thing was, that maybe Logan didn’t always _like_ him so much. Maybe Logan had giant adamantium claws that could rip Peter to shreds. And maybe, and Peter was just spit-ballin’ here, maybe finding out about Captain America’s and Iron Man’s sex lives wasn’t really worth it. Maybe.

            Because, okay, Peter had agreed with Carol and The Wasp. There was something up with Cap and Tony. (Heh. Something up. Woah. No. No. Bad image. Bad.) Anyone could see it. And sure, in the past couple years their relationship had seen its fair share of stormy weather (much worse than the days where they’d just fight over the remote, and those fights could get downright nasty), but somehow the two of them had rallied. So sex or no sex, there was something there, and maybe that was worth asking about. Maybe.

            Plus if he didn’t ask Logan then Carol was going to incinerate him. Or possibly leave him to die in a plummeting plane the next time she took him to visit Aunt May. Both of which were bad options.

            “Something on your mind, bub?”

            “Ah!” Peter whipped around, and there was Logan. All 5 feet and 3 inches of him. “Your skeleton is literally made of metal! How are you able to sneak up on me!?”

            “Practice.” Logan’s grin was slow and sharp, and it made Peter’s skin crawl, just a little.

            “I still can’t believe you’re in charge of children.”

            “Captain Marvel said you wanted to see me?”

            Oh. Well played, Carol. Well played. Peter looked around and saw Carol enter the meeting room with Jan and Jessica behind her. He could hear Clint’s voice down the hallway, mixed with what sounded like Hank Pym. And those were definitely Thor’s booming footsteps. Peter had to ask this question either now or never.

            “Look uh, have you smelled anything… oh… I don’t know… different? About Cap and Iron Man lately?”

            “You want to know if they’re fucking?” How could he just come out and ask that?

            “No! Well. Maybe. I don’t know. Are they?”

            “Nah. The way they act around each other? Always smiling lately, and crowding into each other’s spaces? I thought maybe. But no, and the nose doesn’t lie.” Except, Peter thought, that the nose never told you when you smelled like a barn.

            “Are you sure?” Jan floated over, looking more taken back than anything, and Wolverine nodded.

            “Sure as shootin’.”

            “Sure about what?” Clint had just entered the room. Peter closed his eyes. The last thing they needed was Hawkeye and Ant-Man commenting on this. And that was an opinion coming from _Spider-Man_.

            “He says that Steve and Tony aren’t together,” Jessica explained, and Clint nodded sagely.

            “Yeah. Didn’t think so.”

            “You’re in on this too??” Peter spluttered.

            “Well yeah buddy, who do you think brought this whole thing up? I was sort of wondering, I guess. But this clears it all up. Katie and the Wiccan kid might be a bit upset thought.” How deep did the rabbit hole go?  What was this, Avenger-Gate?

            “Wait, what? Will someone explain to me what this is about?”

            “Hank dear, they just wanted to know if Steve and Tony were dating.”

            “Oh. That again.” Hank sounded completely uninterested, but behind him Thor immediately perked up.

            “Verily, I thought we agreed that they were.”

            “No, we could never confirm.”

            “Ah. Aye, I remember well now.”

            That was about all it took for the room to descend into basic chaos. It was a hard thing to avoid, with that many Avengers in one room, and as more people arrived the discussion just got louder and louder.

            “Well maybe they’re not together now, but maybe they were before.”

            “Are you telling me that I’m not smelling it right?”

            “It’s Tony Stark, I think he could fool your nose.”

            “Hey bub, I’m the best at what I do and-“

            “But _science_.”

            “Where’s The Falcon? He’d know.”

            “Has anyone seen War Machine lately?”

            “This needs to stop…” Peter muttered to himself. Except it wasn’t really to himself, because the room had fallen quiet. They’d fallen quiet at the arrival of two people. Two very confused people.

            “What needs to stop, exactly?” asked Steve. Tony was standing only slightly behind him, wearing a Gucci suit and a suspicious expression. Oh no.

            “Spidey here asked me if you two were fucking.” Logan shrugged and took a pull on his beer can. Oh, he might have scary adamantium claws and a regenerative healing ability, but Peter was going to kill _him_.

            “I only asked because Carol asked Jan!”

-

            Carol was going to kill Peter Parker. How dare he roll her under the bus like that. She’d lure him onto her plane, with promises of taking him to his Aunt May’s, and then she would let that plane go down over the Atlantic. That’s what she was going to do.

            Or she would just punch the living daylights out of him once he felt comfortable enough with her to spar together. Either one.

            “Well,” That was Jessica’s voice, “Carol only asked because I asked, and I only asked because Clint asked me.”

            When this was all over, Carol was going to buy Jess a ring.

-

            When this was all over, Clint was going to go home and lie on his bed and stare at the ceiling and never, ever, ever open his big fat mouth again.

            This was, of course, a promise he would never be able to keep, since Clint Barton made his living off of having dumb ideas. However, for the time being it was a nice dream to have. He learned a long time ago not to bristle under the Captain America gaze (just accept it and better from it), but sometimes when he was really tired he still had trouble not saying a big fuck you and storming off.

            “Clint?”

            “What can I say? The kids, they have, uh, active imaginations. Apparently they were just curious. Maybe the two of you are like, role models for Wiccan and Hulkling or something.”

-

            Steve sighed. This had somehow gotten completely out of hand. He could feel Tony behind him, tense and unsure and probably more than a little pissed off but about to cover it with laughter and biting words. No. Steve had to face this head on.

            “Tony… I think we’d better have a talk. The rest of you, well. I’m disappointed in all of you for giving into the rumor mill. I’m disappointed that you found it more appropriate to talk behind our backs instead of to our faces. Mostly, I’m disappointed in you for having the nerve to discuss something so personal, so callously. Dismissed for the day, we’ll regroup tomorrow at 8 am sharp. Nobody will be late.”

            The rest of the Avengers left with a chorus of apologies and a series of looks. Peter especially, looked like someone had just kicked his puppy. Jan mostly looked like a cat that had just eaten the canary. Carol left with a shrug and her dignity. Clint seemed pretty pissed off. So, basically business as usual for the Avengers. Soon there was just Steve and Tony.

            “Steve.” Tony’s voice behind was calm and measured, just barely betraying the tension that lay coiled underneath.

            “Tony…”

            They had called this meeting to talk about the new direction of the Avengers. It seemed like they’d been doing that a lot, recently. Captain America and Iron Man, a soldier and a businessman, an artist and an engineer, always rebuilding and rebuilding what they had just knocked down.

            What could Steve say? He’d always prided himself on the fact that his feelings for Tony never interfered with his duties. He stuck to his guns during the Civil War (for all that had cost him). He kept on mission in Madripoor, despite the flash of Tony’s teeth as he lay in bed. Even Tony Stark, naked and on a horse with his chest against Steve’s back and his arms wrapped around Steve’s waist hadn’t pushed Steve past his breaking point. But now it was affecting the team dynamic, and that was dangerous.

            It wasn’t some long, secret obsession though. There had been Bernie, Sharon, Sam, Rachel… and more. But there had always been Tony at the back of his mind – Tony with his bright eyes and deft hands and the fact that he couldn’t see how good he truly was. Tony, who checked Steve as much as Steve checked him, and the consequences for one of them swinging too far out of balance had been disastrous. Tony, who was someone Steve could want (someone he could love) but never have.

            There were times when he’d almost said something. Times in the mansion together, when it was just the two of them and some Tolkien and Tony’s machines. Once, when they were eating bagels and watching sunset as they discussed the New Avengers. Another time when Steve saw Tony standing before a ruined Avengers tower, after fighting of Asgardian Nazis, and he just looked so _tired_ that Steve wanted to pull him into his arms and –

            But Steve hadn’t said anything, hadn’t done anything. It had always been the wrong time, there had always been too much at stake. So they knocked things down and they built them back up again, and it didn’t matter if Steve was Tony’s rudder or the wind in his sails because he was sending them in circles. He had tried this thing alone before, but maybe now with whatever they were planning on doing to the Avengers (Steve had said make it bigger, but even he wasn’t sure what he meant by that) – maybe this was the point. Maybe if they just pulled their plans together this time – not an artist or an engineer, but some sort of halfway point – maybe they could make it work. They needed to be an architect, to make this house stand, and that would require the whole truth.

            “Hey,” Steve looked up at the sound of Tony’s voice, and he realized that he had been quiet for too long. “Look, it’s okay. It’s just a rumor, we should be used to them by now.” Tony let out a dry laugh, “I definitely am.”

            “Tony, we need to talk about this.” Steve turned then, and faced Tony head on. His hair was short at the moment, and sticking up in a way that either suggested bedhead or too much product. Judging by Tony’s suit and the waft of cologne, probably the latter. “I’m, well, it’s just that…”

            How do you tell one of your best friends that you’re in love with him, and that you’ve been in love with him for years?

            “You’re uncomfortable. The rumor made you uncomfortable.” Tony rubbed his face in his hands, “I should’ve seen this coming-“

            “No, that’s not-“

            “I mean it’s not like the universe could grant Tony Stark one favor-“

            “Hey-“

            “So I guess we can fight, but I’d rather just le-“

            It turned out that the best way to tell a friend that you’re in love with him is by kissing him. Hard. Except in Steve’s case it was more like ramming his face at Tony’s while the other man kept talking, and once Tony stopped talking he just froze for three seconds and it was only Steve’s lips pressing onto his with no response.

            Steve is a stubborn, stubborn man, but even he can take a hint.

            “I wasn’t uncomfortable, Tony. I just wish I had gotten the chance to… to actually _do_ that, before everyone else started talking about it.” Steve took a step back, took his hand off of Tony’s arm where it was gripping hard enough to bruise, and watched Tony watching him. The other man’s eyes were focused, calculating, like he was working out a kink in a new suit.

            “You want to try this, then.” Tony finally said.

            “Yes, I do. But I’m not going to force it upon you. Either you don’t like men or you don’t like me but-“

            Kissing Tony when he was actually kissing back was demanding, sweet, and better than Steve could have ever dreamed (and he had dreamed about it a lot). It was like watching fireworks on his birthday – bigger and brighter and louder with every second that passed, and so beautiful.

            “I like you,” Tony said when the kiss had broken, “I like you a lot. And despite everything, you still like me.” Like was a bit of an understatement, but Steve could wait to correct him on that. “So, where do we go from here?”

            “We rebuild, and we make it bigger.”

-

            It started with two men.

            It wasn’t the first time that Tony had woken up in a strange bed with no pants on, but it was the first time since Rumiko that he’d been so happy to do so. Steve was a warm weight at his side, with an arm draped loosely around Tony’s waist and his breath heavy on Tony’s neck. Tony had a sudden flashback to hot, sloppy kisses down his chest, and Steve’s strong hands working him until… until… Waking Steve up for round two would be rude, Tony finally decided, so he’d better just get out of bed.

            Besides, he had other things on his mind too.

            Rebuild, Steve had said. Make it bigger, he said. But what did that mean?

            Carefully, Tony rolled out from under Steve’s arm. The other man cracked an eye open, but after seeing that there were no immediate death threats he seemed to allow himself to drift back to sleep. Watching him snuggle back into the covers was downright cute, so cute in fact that it made Tony leave the room before he went back to sleep himself

            He couldn’t sleep, he had too much to do.

            Tony wandered down to his lab, his mind already churning with new thoughts. There was a lot to talk about, a lot to work out, concerning both the Avengers and their relationship. But Tony, for once in his life, had faith. They were going to do it right this time. They would rebuild, and it would be not only bigger, but better than ever before. They’d get it right now; they had to.

            Tony wasn’t going to lose anything this time. He’d fix it – or no, _they’d_ fix it. Together.

            It started with an idea.

            _I want to say I love you._


End file.
